Thursday, July 14, 2011

See you at Cosette




I'm happy to announce that my new blog is now up and running. I will no longer be blogging from Cocoa Chu Chu. Please drop by and say hi at Cosette!

Thank you for being readers of this blog and watch my shop grow. I'm glad things are moving into a different direction. Please continue to visit my new blog!

Thank you so much :)

Fai

Monday, July 4, 2011

Updates

Back then after graduation in the middle of finding a full time job, I decided to make my first handmade necklace to my then boyfriend (now husband) as a gift. It was fun that I started making more for myself, for friends and for my family.

I got compliments from the necklaces I made, so I decided to set up my own shop on Etsy and occasionally sold them at flea markets. It was such a fun experience and I thought it would be nice if I could do this as a career.

Moving to Japan a few months ago, I found myself in one of the biggest fashion capitals of the world. It is full of life, styles, forms and new ideas. This makes me want to create something new and different for my shop.

I'm letting you all know what Cocoa Chu Chu is growing into a different direction. I decided to set up a new shop Cosette, to represent my new jewelry line. I'm currently working on the shop's website and photography. Thank you for your warm support in the past years and in the future as well.

I hope to see you at Cosette very soon. Here's a sneak peek of Cosette.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Hello from Toronto (again!)


Once again, I'm in Toronto! This is why I abandoned my blog and yes, my shop too! So happy to see my family and catch up with friends! It's perfectly warm/sunny during this time.

What are your plans for the summer? I hope you all enjoy your summer!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Hacoa

If you love products from wood, you are like me, then you might like Hacoa. I have recently been introduced to Hacoa store from a friend. My favorite is the wooden keyboard (it makes my inner geek happy!)









Don't forget to check out their shop for more cool items!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Kobe trip

Last week, I got a chance to visit my extended family in Wakayama. We also visited Osaka and Kobe since they are very close to Wakayama. I was so nervous meeting Atchan's cousin for the first time. We went to a tradition Japanese restaurant. They served food I was not familiar with, but everything went great and everyone was so nice.

Next day, we went to Osaka for a quick lunch then headed to Kobe. You can see this giant octopus in the famous street of Dotonburi.



Then we went to the Herb gardens in Kobe.


We took ropeway up to the hill. It has stunning view and romantic at night!


Kobe city from above.


I strongly recommend coming to Herb gardens when you visit Kobe!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wood utensils



I just got a chance to use my wood utensils that I bought back when I was in Thailand. I love the earthy feeling of wooden products :)



This elephant chopstick holder is too adorable to pass on. I couldn't help but buy it!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Spring is coming near!

Hi everyone!




Cherry blossom season is now over in Japan. It was so far the most beautiful blossoms I have ever seen. I got a chance to visit to Chidorigafuchi around Tokyo imperial palace over the last weekend. It was packed with locals and tourists!

Although it was a little cloudy, people had smiles on their faces!



Then we went to Harajuku to have crepes for afternoon snack!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Japan as it is.



Hi there. It's me! I'm back to blogging. It is cherry blossom season again. It started blooming just the beginning of this week. I managed to take photos of a very lovely cherry blossom in full bloom!

The past few weeks have been very tough not only for me, but for the whole country. I had a ticket back to Toronto on March 18. I kept staring at it ever since the earthquake started.

The earthquake happened just two weeks after I arrived in Japan. It was one sunny afternoon. I was watching We got married with Nickhun and Victoria online and all of sudden the whole house started to shake. It started off mild and within a few minutes, it was shaking badly. I felt the house was very jello-like. I got dizzy from the quake. It was so strong that I panicked. I have never experienced something like this in my life. I remember ducking under the table and just waited until it toned down, telling myself I'm fine and not to panic. When the earthquake toned down a little, I opened the front door to go outside and saw that my neighbors were already outside. No one said anything, we just exchanged glances. All I could see was the electric poles and the ground shaking really badly.

Then aftershocks began all day and night long. I didn't sleep at all that night. The aftershocks continued for weeks. I could feel it until recently, but it wasn't as strong, feels like a truck passing by.

I learned a few things from the earthquake experience.

- When the earthquake happens, first thing you do is to turn off the gas. This is to prevent fire.

- Do not escape during the earthquake, something might drop and hit you. Instead, wait until the earthquake tones down and try to escape, don't forget to cover your head.

- Open the windows and doors, the house will loosen its shape during a strong earthquake, then you will have a place to escape.

- Phones and cellphones will not work during/after the earthquake.

- Always have an emergency bag prepared. This includes emergency contact number, number of your id, passport, bottles of water and so on.

- Discuss with your family members where to meet after the earthquake. ie, school, hospital, park since phones will not work.

- As for foreigners like myself, my friend suggests I have a paper written in Japanese (like I don't speak much Japanese, please take me to a safe place and include your contact phone number) with me at all time of emergency. It sounds like a kindergarten kid, but couldn't hurt to carry them around.

- If you live near the coast, check the news immediately if there will be tsunami or not.

And the thing I learned from radiation incident is you have to know your news source and don't believe everything you read. Some news source made things look worse than it really is.

I remembered when news about nuclear radiation spread, almost all supermarkets ran out of food, most shelves were empty. Water bottles and rice, bread and meat were no where to be found. Gas stations ran out of gas. Some people waited 6 hours in line just to get gas. Everybody wore masks and of course, even masks were sold out as well.

Just last week, everything appeared to be in normal state again. There are plenty of food now. I wonder if those who stocked up their food would be able to finish eating what they had bought?

Now that I have postponed my ticket to Toronto. I decided to stay with Atchan in Japan so that we can start our new life together. I really hope Japan and I could be friends despite our rough beginning.

I believe Japan is a strong country and things will get better from now on. I admire Japanese people though in rough time, people work so hard and put on their best faces.

This cherry blossom tree is so far the most beautiful full bloom I have ever seen. It stood gracefully next to the bicycle park. Everyone who parked their bicycle couldn't help looking and taking photos of it! I believe it's a wonderful beginning!!




P.S. Thank you Jenny and Becca for worrying about me.

Cheers :)

Fai

Monday, March 7, 2011

Hello from Japan!

It's been almost two weeks since I came to Japan. I know I have been neglecting my blog. What have I been doing for the past two weeks? Let me update you what I have been up to :)

- My visa is finally done! I have been going to the immigration office in Tokyo and I received my spouse visa last week, yay! Thanks so much for this forum and this blog for the info about the visa.

- Apartment hunting. Atchan and I have been looking for our own place for the past two weeks and our search is over! We found a cute, quiet apartment located in Saitama. We think it would be easy to commute since it not very far from Tokyo (40 mins). I would compare it to Mississauga of Toronto :)




- Having lots and lots of Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki! I have gained 1.5 kg ever since I got here. Too many delicious food around here!



- Lastly, a view from my neighborhood.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Relocating!

**We are relocating!**

Cocoa Chu Chu is moving to Japan. The shop will re-open in Japan in mid March. All orders made before February 15, 2011 have already been shipped.

Please feel free to contact me by email at info.cocoachuchu [!at] gmail.com if you have any questions.

See you in Japan!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I went shopping

I went to Jatujak flea market during the weekend, look what I got!



A girl can never have enough accessories...



enough shoes...



or enough purses, right?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Axcis Nalf Kitchen Wares

I've been looking for home decor items quite a lot lately and came across this lovely website. Kitchen wares by Axcis Nalf. I love how it gives off zakka feel.




Saturday, January 8, 2011

Happy New Year 2011!

Greetings from Hua Hin, Thailand!



I hope you had a great time during the holidays. I got to escape to the beach, Hua Hin for one whole day. Atchan's family visited Thailand on the last week of December. They requested that they would love to spend a day or two at the beach not too far from Bangkok.

We reserved a table at a restaurant in Let's Sea Hotel, Hua Hin. Hua Hin is 3 hours away from Bangkok by car. There are closer beaches around Bangkok, but they are too crowded and too touristy.





We got to spend a lazy afternoon getting a sun tan.



when we got bored from getting a sun tan, we walked around the shore.



took picture of our shadows (lol).



and we had Pad Thai.



It was such a wonderful day. I want to come back here again!
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